Right In Front of You
by MargatheMockingjay
Summary: Fed up with the romantic tension between Nate and Serena, Chuck and Blair plot to get their best friends together. But will they be able to get the job done when they start to fall in love with each other?
1. Upper East Side Story

_**Hey guys! I'm back! So, anyway, let me explain to you the basis of this story: Chuck and Blair hate each other, but only because they don't know each other, you'll probably think that if they got to know each other a little bit more, they could be really close; the Shepherd wedding rendezvous between Nate and Serena happened, and Bart is still alive, since this story is set in Non-Judging Breakfast Club's early senior year. And, I'm sorry to put this in this story, but the Chuck and Blair's night at Victrola never happened. I know, I know, it also didn't happen in my previous story. But work with me here, I have a plan, I promise. Marcus and Blair never happened, since Blair only used him as a rebound to help her get over Chuck. Oh! And of course, Nate and Serena are in love and are just too daft to realize it. So, enjoy!

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_"We were given: Two hands to hold. To legs to walk. Two eyes to see. Two ears to listen. But why only one heart? Because the other was given to someone else. For us to find."_

_-Anonymous _

It all started quite innocently, actually. Nate and Serena have been good friends since kindergarten, and they have been ever since. Nate always had a cute little crush on Serena, while Serena, as beautiful as she was, was too naive to see it. Plus, there were too many boys going after her for her to notice. Blair and Serena were best friends; the problem was that Blair had a crush on Nate. She always tried to show how much she liked him, but no matter what she did, it was just Serena, Serena, Serena.

Blair was an innocent (but scheming) little girl. Just like any little girl, she dreamt of finding true love, like the fairy tales she read about. But, her favourite princess wasn't Cinderella, or Snow White, or even Sleeping Beauty, in fact, her favourite princess wasn't even a princess. Her favourite princess was none other than Audrey Hepburn, the graceful Hollywood starlet. You'd think she'd pick Grace Kelly as her favourite, but she was only her second favourite, even if Grace _was_ an actual princess. She fell in love with Audrey when she was seven. That was the very first time she'd seen _Breakfast at Tiffany's_. And from then on, Audrey Hepburn was her idol.

Finally, Nate asked Blair out in seventh grade, and she said yes. They've been a couple ever since-until the Shepherd Wedding. You see, Serena had a little too much to drink, and she told Nate that a few shots wouldn't hurt him either. Finally, when they were both drunk off their asses, Blair told them to go out and get some fresh air. What a mistake.

So, after having her chastity belt removed by Nate, Serena realized she had just betrayed her best friend, and convinced her mother that a life away from the big city would be a good idea. A year later, she returned, only to find out that the Upper East Side has gotten crazier. Blair was bitchier than ever, Nate was still in love with her, Chuck had seen every little detail of her and Nate fooling around and there was a mysterious blogger who called herself "Gossip Girl" and posted gossip about them. She was like their very own Perez Hilton.

And so, eventually, Blair found out about Nate and Serena's little "affair to remember" and ended things with Nate. Sadly, that was the night she planned on losing her virginity to him. But soon enough, Blair forgave Serena and Nate. Everyone thought that Nate and Serena were dating, including their teachers. Even Gossip Girl thought so.

Chuck, who was a womanizing drunkard, possessed every single trait that Blair hated about a man, and even gave her some new, undiscovered traits to hate him for. Chuck had also grown up with Nate, Serena and Blair on the Upper East Side. He was also Nate's best friend, which was a little unlucky for her when she used to be Nate's girlfriend, _and_ _now_, to top it off, he is now Serena's step brother, since his billionaire father, Bart Bass just married Lily van der Woodsen last summer. Great. But the only thing that Chuck and Blair had in common (or so they thought) was that they knew Nate and Serena should be together. For real.

By senior year, it got worse. No one believed it when Nate or Serena said that they were "just friends". Even their parents thought they were together.

"Seriously, S," Blair told her best friend. "Just tell him how you feel and I won't have to keep reminding you that the whole school thinks you're together."

Serena sighed and rolled her eyes. _That's Blair for you; she always thinks she's right. And she usually is, actually. But this time, she isn't. _They were sitting on the couch having some tea at the van der-Bass penthouse after having their first day of senior year. "B, how many times do I have to tell you-?"

"Oh, spare me, Serena. Even a mind reader won't believe you. You may not be together, but you're in love with him, and I know that he's in love with you too. Just do all of us a favour and admit it," Blair said, setting down her cup of tea on the table.

"Hate to admit it, but Waldorf's right," a masculine voice said. They both turned to see who it was. Chuck was standing there, smirking at them both. Blair tried to restrain herself from groaning. "Just cut the act and I won't have to keep bugging Nathaniel about this."

Blair flashed him a fake smile, turned to Serena, got up and picked up her Ferragamo purse. "See, even _he_ agrees with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to meet Matthew in a few minutes." And with that, she left. Matthew is Blair's boyfriend of five months. Like Nate and Chuck, he is also a senior at Saint Jude's. The thing is, Blair didn't have to meet with Matthew today. He had soccer practice. She just used it as an excuse to stay away from Chuck.

Once Blair was out of earshot, Serena spoke. "Of all the things you two chose to _actually agree on_, it's _this_?" So far, the topic of Nate and Serena destined to be together was the only thing Chuck and Blair agreed on.

"It's something the whole school agrees upon," Chuck said, making his way to the stairs and up to his bedroom.

"But we're just fr-" she was saying, but he interrupted her.

"Tell it to someone who'll believe you," he said, before closing his bedroom door.

* * *

Blair took a cab home. Right now, she needed a good Hepburn marathon, something to get her mind off of Nate and Serena. But she knew nothing could cure this syndrome, the only thing that can cure it is a little good old fashioned scheming.

The thing is, she knew she couldn't do this alone. God knows she's one of the very few people on the Upper East Side who was really good at plotting and scheming. The only other person is-no. No, no, no. Absolutely not. She wasn't going to ask Chuck Bass to help her plot to get Nate and Serena together. But then again, he _is_ Nate's best friend, and she _is_ Serena's best friend. He's the only one who can help her do this, even though she'd hate to admit it.

Hesitantly, she reached inside her bag and pulled out her phone. She dialled his number (Serena had asked her to add his number just in case, and surprisingly, she still had it), and waited for him to answer it. After two or three rings, she heard him pick up.

"Hello?" came his voice.

Blair took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Chuck...it's Blair, listen, I-" she started, but he interrupted her.

"Waldorf, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" he said. Blair rolled her eyes in disgust. She could just imagine him smirking over the phone.

"Look, I-" but she was interrupted once more.

"How did you get my number, anyway? Have you been stalking me? If you wanna hook up sometime, I'm just here, you know." _Ewww_.

She scoffed. "You know what, this was a bad idea, I'm sorry for wasting your time."

Blair was about to hang up, but she heard his voice again. "Hold on. If this is about Nate and Serena, I think it's about time we get them together."

Blair was taken by surprise. She knew that he wanted Nate and Serena together too, but she had no idea that he was willing to plot just for the sake of it. It's almost as if he read her mind, no matter how crazy that sounded. "Couldn't agree more. We'll talk about it tomorrow at my place. I'll text you the address."

"I look forward to doing business with you," he said, and hung up.

_That went better than I expected, _she thought. And then it occurred to her that she was going to have to try and tolerate him even more. Uggh. _Remember, you're doing this for Nate and Serena. Nate and Serena._

And yet it still didn't change the fact that she would have to team up with Chuck Bass for this one.

As far as she knew, Nate and Serena better thank her for what she's about to put up with for their sake.

_**So, what do you guys think? Okay, so I know it's short. But they'll get longer, I promise. Anyway, please review! Reviews inspire me, whether good or bad.**_


	2. A Night In Casablanca

_**Hey there! First of all, I'm very sorry for the long wait. I'm really trying to raise my Algebra grade. So anyway, in this chapter, you'll find another Waldorf nightmare. And as usual, it's based on a classic film. The film that I used for this nightmare is **_**Casablanca**_**. The scene that I used here is the last scene, the one that takes place at the airport, when Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) tells Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) that she has to leave Casablanca with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), despite the fact that they're still in love with each other. This particular scene is also one of the most iconic scenes in American Film History. So...yeah. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl.

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_"The worst thing you can do for love is deny it."  
~Anonymous_

The minute Blair arrived home, she immediately regretted asking for Chuck's help. Talking to him on the phone just made her think that she wouldn't be able to tolerate him. She was Blair Waldorf. She can get Nate and Serena together on her own.

And now the only thing to worry about now is telling him that she will no longer need his help. Well, maybe she can do that tomorrow. Right now, she needed rest. Yes, rest. A nice hot bath, a nice movie (_My Fair Lady_, maybe?) and a good night's sleep. Yep, just what she needed.

* * *

_It was late one windy night and a black Rolls-Royce drove down airport where a private plane could be seen, apparently boarding a few passengers. Blair got off the car, and instantly felt the breeze of the cold night air on her face and neck. The breeze was consistent, never once stopping, just like the light fog that came with it. She closed the car door behind her and noticed she wasn't the only one who was in the car. Two blondes-a man and a woman also got off the car, the man closing the door behind them. They were both quite tall, and beautiful. The woman had long flowing hair and they both had bright blue eyes. He was wearing a long dark coat and she was wearing a double-breasted coat which fell just above her knees. There was also another man who came with them, wearing a beige trench coat and a brown homburg._

_The man in the trench coat and homburg approached the man who had been driving the car. "Have your man go with them and take care of their luggage," he said._

"_Certainly, whatever you say," he replied, and approached a man in uniform who was standing outside the radio tower._

"_Find their luggage and put it on the plane," he told him._

_The man in uniform saluted. "Oui, monsieur," he replied in a French accent, turned to the two blondes and said, "zis way, please," and walked towards the direction of the airplane. The two blondes glanced at Blair before following the man._

_Blair looked turned to the other two men. The man in the trench coat gave the driver, who she now noticed was also in uniform, what appeared to be exit visas. "If you don't mind, you fill in the names, that'll make it even more official," he said as the driver took the papers from his hand._

_The driver smirked a little. "You think of everything, don't you?" he said, and walked to the nearest table to write down their names._

_The man in the trench coat continued, "In the names of Nathaniel Archibald, Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf."_

_This took Blair by surprise. She took a step forward. "But...why my name, Chuck?" she asked._

_He turned to face her and stepped closer to her. "Because you're getting on that plane," he said. It was more of an order than a request. He was just a few inches taller than her, quite handsome, actually. His brown homburg cast a shadow over his eyes, making him look like some sort of secret agent._

"_What? B-but, I don't understand, what about you?" Blair asked him, as if she really wanted him to go with them on the plane._

"_I'm staying here for a while," he said._

"_No, Chuck," She said, stomping her foot as a sign of impatience. "What happened? Last night you said-"_

_But he interrupted her. "Last night, we said a lot of things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us, and it all adds up to one thing: You're getting on that plane to New York where you belong."_

"_But, Chuck I-"_

"_Now you have to listen to me, you wouldn't have anything to look forward to if you stayed here in Paris with me. You're much better off with Matthew in New York."_

"_You're only saying this to make me go," Blair said._

"_I'm saying it because it's true," he said, looking deep into her eyes and taking hold of her arm, their faces only inches apart. "If that plane leaves the ground and you're not on it, you'll regret it,"_

_Blair tried to protest, but she was cut off again._

"_Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life."_

_Her eyes started to fill with tears. "But what about us?"_

_He looked into both of her eyes. "We'll always have Paris." He had some sort of softness on his face as he said this, the kind of softness you would never find in the heart of a man like him. It was then that Blair heard beautiful music, but she didn't know where it was coming from._

_She managed to give him a small smile. Slowly, the moved closer to him, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, and when she pulled back ever so slowly, it left a tingling sensation on her lips, like it always did._

_They looked into each other's eyes for what felt like hours, when they heard the sound of the airplane engine starting. "Miss Waldorf," came the voice of the man who escorted the two blondes to the airplane, making Chuck and Blair turn to look at him. "Ze plane is about to leave."_

_They looked at each other once more, knowing that this would be the last time they would see each other. Blair was no longer able to hold back her tears and looked down as they fell from her eyes._

_Chuck saw this and lifted her chin up with his finger, making her look at him again. "Now, now," he said softly. He gave her a small smile. "Here's looking at you, kid."_

_She smiled back at him and wiped away her tears. She looked down and took hold of his hand. He lifted their intertwined hands to his face and kissed her hand. She took a deep breath. "Goodbye, Chuck."_

"_Goodbye, Blair," he replied. She started walking away, even if their fingers were still intertwined, as if she was taking him with her to the airplane, even though they both knew very well that he couldn't go with her. Slowly, he let go of her hand, and she gave him another sad smile before walking to the airplane.

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_

Blair awoke with a jerk. She slowly sat up and removed her sleeping mask. Little by little, she put together the events that happened in her dream, as frames from the dream itself played in her head like a movie. She sighed with a smile. _Casablanca_. One of her favourite movies, despite the fact that Audrey Hepburn was not in it. But then she remembered that there was something quite odd about that movie. Not only because of the fact that she was playing Ingrid Bergman, who portrays Ilsa Lund (she never really imagined herself as Ingrid Bergman, but then again, she always _was_ the leading lady in her dreams), but also because Humphrey Bogart wasn't playing Rick Blaine...and Matthew wasn't playing Rick either...the one who portrayed Rick Blaine in the dream was...was..._Ohmigod._ The smile on her face vanished in the blink of an eye when she realized that the man who took the place of Humphrey Bogart was Chuck Bass.

She shuddered in complete and totally unadulterated disgust. _Oh God. Of all the men in all the towns in all the world_-_Oh great, I'm doing it again. I've gotta stop watching Humphrey Bogart movies_.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around to look at her clock. Her eyes widened. _Holy. Shit_. She was _beyond_ late. Well, not exactly late, but she barely had any time to get ready.

"Miss Blair! Miss Blair!" Blair heard the voice of Dorota as she knocked on her bedroom door. "Miss Blair, are you ready? You better hurry, or you will be late."

And with that, she quickly got up and rushed to her bathroom.

Around ten minutes later, she got out of her bathroom, fixed her hair as quickly as possible, opened her closet and got her school uniform, putting it on as fast as she could. After dressing up, she took one last look at the mirror, grabbed her purse and hurried out of her bedroom.

She rushed down the stairs, and saw Dorota standing at the foot of the stairs. "Miss Blair, what about breakfast?" she asked as Blair ran.

"I can't! I don't have time!" Blair said. And then, as she ran, Dorota noticed something from the corner of her eye. The zipper of Blair's blouse (which was at the side) was unzipped, showing Blair's white undershirt on the spot where it was open. Unfortunately for Blair, she had already gotten out before Dorota was able to warn her about her unzipped blouse.

_All this just because of a stupid dream_, she thought. _I'll never watch _Casablanca_ again for as long as I'll live_. And how could she even have dreamt of _Casablanca_ when she watched _My Fair Lady_ before sleeping? Blair rolled her eyes at the thought.

She continued walking until she got out of the building and hailed for a taxi.

But not a single taxi stopped to pick her up. She tried again. Still, none of the taxis noticed.

She checked her watch. She still had five minutes to go. And after much debating if she should take a taxi or walk to school, she decided to walk. _Fast_.

_Damn those cabs. No one ignores Blair Waldorf_.

A few steps later, a black limousine started to follow her, and in no less than two seconds, she saw the window slide down from her peripheral vision, looked to her side and saw Chuck smirking at her.

"Care for a ride?" he smirked. _Oh God. By 'ride', he better mean _on his car.

She flashed him a fake smile. "No thank you," she said. But the car continued following her.

"You sure?" he asked, a devilish look in his eyes. "You'll be late."

"I'd rather be late than hitch a ride with you," she said bitchily.

"Come on," he persisted. "You'll ruin your shoes."

And then she heard the splashing of water and felt cold water dampening her stockings and feet, seeping inside her $400 Tory Burch flats. She looked down and saw that she just stepped on a puddle. _Please be rain water...please be rain water_. She looked at Chuck and saw that his smirk got even wider.

She sighed in defeat. "Fine," she said, and his smirk widened and he opened the car door, allowing her to get in.

_**Spotted: B hitching a ride with C**_

She got in, closed the door, and he scooted a little. They rode in silence for a few minutes. Then, from the corner of his eye, Chuck saw the unzipped portion of her blouse. He didn't know whether to tell her or to just...zip it himself. Finally he had made his decision. He was going to zip it up.

Slowly, both of his hands went forward, one holding the blouse in place and the other zipping it up.

This made Blair yelp in surprise. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Chuck looked up to see her face. She was looking at him as though he was some kind of psycho rapist. _Is he trying to undress me?_

"Just trying to help," he replied.

"With _what_?" she demanded.

Chuck, seeing that she was angry, replied, "Look, if I were you, I'd check if I've zipped everything up," he scooted back to his place.

Blair looked down at the zipper on her side. He had zipped it. _Crap_. She must've forgotten to do so when she left her house in a hurry. It was then that Blair realized that she had stupidly jumped to conclusions. She looked down at her soaked shoes. "I – I'm sorry...Thanks for...helping," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," he replied, just as quietly.

Moments of awkward silence passed by when Blair noticed that they were near the museum. She broke the silence. "You can just drop me off at the steps," she told him.

"Arthur," he told the driver. "Pull over here."

The limousine came to a stop in front of the steps, and Blair got off the vehicle without so much as a word. As the limo drove off, she looked over at the steps and saw her minions Penelope, Hazel, Nelly and Isabel waiting for her. Their faces lit up when they saw her, and they scurried over to her.

"Blair!" Penelope said. "Finally, we thought you'd _never_ get here."

Before Blair was able to reply, Hazel interjected. "Omigod, was that just Chuck Bass's limo that you rode?"

"Yes, but I-"

"You're not having sex with him, are you?" Penelope asked.

Blair scoffed. "_Gross_! Watch your words, Penelope, otherwise, your MAC lip gloss won't be worth applying," she said, rolling her eyes at Penelope's stupidity. "Actually, I'm doing some business with him."

Isabel raised an eyebrow. "Business? What kind of business?"

Blair wore a smug look. "We're getting Nate and Serena together."

Their jaws dropped. "Wait, Nate and Serena?" Nelly asked. "I-I thought they already _were_ together."

And then, as if on cue, Nate and Serena appeared, and Serena gave him a hug before walking away as the five of them watched. Blair sighed. "I know, even _I_ thought so. Poor little things, they just don't realize how daft they're being."

* * *

It was almost the end of the day and Blair hadn't eaten a single meal yet. Her mother was coming home from Paris in a few days, and she wanted to make sure she looked perfect for her toughest judge. She was starving, so hungry that she could actually feel herself trembling. But she ignored it.

Before she was about to leave school, she noticed Chuck walking towards her direction. _Great. What does he need to zip up this time?_

"Waldorf," he said. "So when do we take action?"

"Look, I don't really think that we should...do this," she said, trying not to sound exhausted.

He drew a look of confusion on his face.

Blair tried to explain (even though she had no particular explanation to give him, besides the fact that she won't be able to tolerate him. Or so she thought.), but words weren't able to escape her mouth. Her head started spinning, and her knees felt weak.

"Waldorf, are you okay?" he asked.

"I...I..." she managed to say, before her knees gave in and her eyes rolled to the back of her head before closing. Everything went black.

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_**End of second chapter. Again, I'm really sorry you guys had to wait a long time for me to post this. And though this chapter may or may not contain what you guys wanted it to have, tell me what you want to happen next, what you think will happen next, and what you think of this story so far. Basically the highlight of this chapter was Blair's nightmare...er, I mean dream. And if you've seen Casablanca, you'll notice that I've inserted Humphrey Bogart's immortal quotes in that seen, such as "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life,", "We'll always have Paris,", and "Here's looking at you, kid." And, just in case you didn't notice, the two blondes in the dream were Nate and Serena. Oh! And the part where Blair wakes up and thinks to herself, "Of all the men in all the towns in all the world," was also taken from Bogart's quote in the movie, "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Please review! Reviews are what keep me writing.**_


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